Instagram’s hashtags work in a similar way to Twitter’s hashtags. However, they’ve been “reinvented” some. You can place these hashtags in any of your photos, as well as in their captions and comments. People will then tap on the hashtag to look at other photos with the same hashtag.

It’s possible to add as many as 30 hashtags to just one photo. You do this either before or after publishing it. If you’re doing it afterward, you can only do it on your own uploads, and you’ll need to list the hashtags in your comments. This is great news because search results are sorted by “most recent” so you can keep yours up-to-date and near the top for a while.

Using Instagram hashtags dramatically increase your following, particularly if the hashtags are hot and trending. Nonetheless, every hashtag has its own RSS feed that’s associated with it, so it’s easy for folks to subscribe to your photos, especially if they have a feed reader. This is how people will follow you with ease.

The Best Use of Instagram Hashtags

It’s a great thing to join in on any hashtag games that are occurring. They’ll help you be more consistent with your posting since there’s a different theme available for each day throughout the week. By being a part of this, you’ll increase your following and interactions since many people search for these hashtags.

Where to Use Your Hashtags

While you can use hashtags in every single Instagram post you make, there are some ways in which you can make your hashtags even more profitable:

Make your name as a hashtag
Always post photos with your name as a hashtag, e.g. #YourNickName. This enables those who like your photos to find you via search easily instead of scrolling through everything on the site in search of you.

Picture’s subject
Include your hashtag with the picture’s subject. Don’t tag every single word, only those that are really relevant or important.

Places
Mention where you took the photo as users find this interesting and will actually search for hashtags of places.

Apps, techniques and cameras
In the same way that users search for places, they also search for apps, techniques and cameras that posters use for photos. Therefore, you should hashtag these things so that others who are searching specifically for these things will find your photos.

Location-based hashtags
Location-based hashtags (both abbreviated and full location names) also work really well on Instagram.

Keeping these things in mind as you set up your hashtags on Instagram will enable people to find you and your brand easily.